Heritage & Culture

Aznash Laaman is a renowned musical folk ensemble from Pankisi Valley. The all-female Kist group have toured across Georgia and European countries as well as in Australia, enthralling audiences.

Their repertoire consists of traditional Chechen songs and Sufi-inspired chants.

Please contact PVTDA to arrange a private concert.

Kist cuisine combines Chechen and Georgian culinary traditions using locally grown, organic fruits, vegetables and herbs.

Typical Kist cuisine includes mutton, goat, beef or chicken. Dishes are lavishly spiced with walnut, plum, garlic and herb sauces. In local guest houses, you can taste hand-churned butter, homemade cheeses, creams, and yogurts. Many households make bread from stone-ground corn. 

Specialty dishes such as Chaabilgish (Chechen Khachapuri stuffed with pumpkin) and Jijig-Galnash (dumpling-noodles with mutton) cannot be found anywhere else in Georgia. 

Cheese making is a widely practiced craft around the valley. Many different kinds of dairy products produced in the traditional way are sold in regional markets. 

The Kist culture in Pankisi Valley continue to practice the tradition of driving sheep and cows high into the mountains pastures for grazing from May to September, to produce high-quality dairy products.

Across Pankisi Valley, tourists can find home-based beekeepers producing quality honey using traditional methods. Beehives are found in many backyards and fields across the valley.

Cultural tours take visitors to a popular beekeeper in Dumasturi village to see how honey is produced and can taste it with tea.

Please contact PVTDA to arrange a visit. 

Shengeli Tokhosashvili is the owner of a small brewery in Omalo village producing traditional Chechen non-alcoholic beer known as Kisturi. It took him two years to turn this handcrafted process into a functioning commercial enterprise.

“Brewing was a traditional and integral part of our ancestors’ life. I’m a lawyer and my involvement in this field started with training funded by USAID/Zrda which helped with grant-writing development of production plans. Thanks to their help, I was able to develop the concept of turning the ancient brewing tradition passed down by our ancestors, into my primary occupation. It wasn’t easy learning how to set up and manage a small enterprise, but after two years, today, my beer is ready for sale.”

Kisturi beer is available in shops in Pankisi Valley and Tbilisi.

Visits to the brewery can be arranged through cultural tours to see how the beer is produced and taste it.

Please contact PVTDA to arrange a visit. 

The small ethnographic museum was founded in 2010 and hosts a collection of many interesting artefacts of cultural and historical importance. It is located on the ground floor of a large two story building next to the police station in Duisi.

Visitors can view jewelry, coins, weapons and other items excavated or found in Pankisi Valley. There is also a small library where you can see a collection of books and prints. 

Cultural tours take visitors to the museum.

Please contact PVTDA to arrange a visit. 

Kist crafts are integral aspects of Chechen culture brought into the valley in the mid-1800’s. Great importance is paid to these crafts by locals who are dedicated to maintaining their rich heritage. 

Felt-making is one of the crafts taught to children of the area as part of a program to keep Kist arts and crafts alive. There are workshops and schools across the valley where artisans produce felt work from sheep’s wool using traditional techniques.

Local felt maker, Zizi, has been practicing Chechen-style felt making since the 1960’s. She is regarded as a master felt-maker. Visitors can observe the felt-making process and purchase hats, souvenirs and other products.

Cultural tours take visitors to Zizi's workshop.

Please contact PVTDA to arrange a visit. 

Saint George's church is located in Jokolo. It was consecrated in 1888 and served Pankisi Valley's Christian community for many decades. Though no longer in use, the church is considered an important heritage building. It is maintained by the Kists out of respect and reverence. 

Thanks to donations from a local philanthropist, the church was recently refurbished and new icons were purchased and installed. 

A local Kist family acts as a custodian and maintains the church. 

Cultural tours take visitors to Saint George's church.

Please contact PVTDA to arrange a visit.